Analytical Essay (Evolution of Hominid Species)Hominid species can be defined as "any modern or extinct bipedal primate of the family Hominidae up to Homo Sapiens, modern man" (2009) . These species date back 23 million years and have all evolved significantly due to physical changes in the environment and natural selection. Some factors in the evolution of hominid species, however, are determined by the increase in intelligence over time and therefore the use of tools has caused their evolution to be inappropriate for nature. Through the use of skull reconstructions, brain and muscle statistics, and canine evidence, various theories circulate within the scientific community to suggest reasoning for the family tree of the hominid species. Based on data collected as part of an investigation into human evolution conducted by students at Saint Stephens, a definitive phylogeny has been recreated that suggests the evolutionary path of modern man, Homo Sapiens. The scientific community is significantly developing theories that suggest the ancestors of our existence, with the daily production of highly specialized technology. However, among the mass of evidence found over time, some biological characteristics of hominid species require a longer period of time to evolve (millions of years) and are therefore more reliable in investigations, since they show whether a change over the course of millions years is evident. The most valuable variable of the two investigated; teeth and skull structure, have been found to be skull structure since the time required for a facial structure to change largely exceeds that of the canine and mandible since artificial objects, e.g. tools, fire etc., can alter the way in which an organism eats particu. .....middle of paper ......ty of the hominid species. Prior to this time, hominin species underwent the evolution of bipedalism and adaptation to multiple regions that enabled climate changes over millions of years that developed our understanding of weather patterns and seasons. As unpredictable change became apparent, a larger cranial capacity evolved to understand change and gain knowledge about how to survive in it. Unknowingly, the hominin species was evolving and adapting to environmental change. This process of change still happens today, but it takes millions of years to become a noticeable comparison. Both bipedalism and regional adaptation in Figure 2 - Influence of weather patterns on hominin cranial capacity Figure 2 above is an indication of the largest climate fluctuation in history that caused an increase